WASHINGTON - A letter signed by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, actor Danny Glover,
Harry Belafonte, Haiti-based aid organizations, and a number of other
NGO's and academic experts was sent to House Democratic majority
leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus today, urging for the U.S.
to prioritize and improve coordination of aid delivery over military
deployment in Haiti. The letter notes that an over-emphasis on security
has meant costly delays in distributing aid that have cost lives and
led to otherwise unnecessary amputations in some cases.

The letter, which is also signed by Haiti-based aid groups including
Haiti Konpay, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), and
the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, calls for an
accounting of supplies and personnel passing through U.S.-controlled
ports and airports, and commitments to deliver aid to under served
areas and persons and to work with all governments and NGO's in doing
so, as reports continue to describe communities in parts of Haiti that
still await much-needed aid.

The letter follows:

January 27, 2010

Dear Members of Congress,

The outpouring of aid from U.S. citizens and their government to Haiti
in the wake of this immense catastrophe has been important and welcome.
However, it is also clear that there have been serious mistakes that
have unnecessarily delayed the delivery of medical supplies, water, and
other life-saving materials.

Currently, there are major shortages reported of food, tents, and water.

The most costly unnecessary delays had until recently been in the area
of medical supplies.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the world-renowned humanitarian group is
one of the organizations who had tons of medical supplies re-routed
because of decisions made by the U.S. government.

"We
lost three days," Francoise Saulnier, the head of MSF's legal
department told Reuters Television in an interview. "And these three
days have created a massive problem with infection, with gangrene, with
amputations that are needed now, while we could have really spared this
to those people."

Perhaps the biggest mistake has been an overemphasis on security, and
the deployment of 20,000 troops, to the detriment of delivery of
life-saving supplies. This was especially true during the first 10-12
days after the earthquake hit.

Although the situation with regard to medical supplies has recently
improved, there are now other shortages, including food, water, and
tents.

To avoid more unnecessary loss of life in the coming weeks, we call
upon the Administration to guarantee the following:

A daily public accounting of the shipments of materials and
personnel that pass through the Port-au-Prince airport or any other
ports under control of the U.S. military

A public commitment to prioritize the distribution of vital aid
and supplies and personnel, including water, medical supplies, food,
medical personnel, and shelter. This means that these supplies and
personnel must be given priority over the deployment of any more
military personnel or equipment.

A public announcement as to what measures our government will
take going forward to make sure that the mistakes of the first two
weeks are not repeated.

A public commitment to deliver, water, food, and other urgently
needed supplies to rural areas and other population centers that have
seen little, no, or greatly delayed aid

A public commitment to ensuring that all survivors in Haiti
receive the necessities: clean water, food, shelter, and medical care,
and that all resources received will be immediately deployed for this
purpose

A public commitment to work with all governments and Civil
Society Organizations that are delivering these needed goods and
services

While security can help to ensure a better distribution of aid, the
actual distribution of aid is most important. While it is true that
there have been some supplies lost to looting, this is not nearly so
terrible as the loss of life and limb that has occurred due to
unnecessary delays. The over-emphasis on security has been costly, and
must not be repeated - from now on the top priority must be the
delivery and distribution of the basic survival needs of the
population. The Administration must publicly reassure the world that
this will indeed be the priority going forward.

Further

With the toxic Bibi circus in town - cue talk of "tentacles of terror" - find hope in the extraordinary Combatants For Peace, a joint effort by weary Israeli and Palestinian veterans of violence who've laid down their guns to fight for peace. Led by a former IDF soldier and Fatah militant who both lost daughters to the conflict's "unrightable wrongs," they insist on the need to "hear what is painful" and talk to your 'enemies': "Partners for peace always exist. You only have to look for them."